BBB Finds Consumers, Businesses Disagree On Trust In Advertising

BY bbbeditor
|
Posted: Thursday, December 06, 2012 09:39 AM

St. Louis, Mo., Dec. 6, 2012 – Cyberspace
is changing the advertising scene radically, both in terms of where consumers
look for ads and what businesses say is their most effective advertising
medium, according to a Better Business Bureau
(BBB) study.

Consumers
were asked what the most and least trusted media were for advertising. The two
results were combined to create a “trust factor.” With a rating of a positive
17 percent, they ranked company websites well ahead of such common media as
mainline newspapers, television and radio.

Businesses
were asked to indicate their most effective medium for advertising. A third of
respondents said their own websites were the most effective, and company websites
led the list of where businesses spend their most advertising dollars.

Businesses
also ranked search engine optimization (SEO) high in both dollars spent and
effectiveness. The study recommends “that
businesses that have not done so explore the opportunities
available through search engine optimization and search engine marketing.”

Eight-five
percent of consumers responding to the survey said they use an Internet search
engine to find a company with which to do business, according to the study.

The
surveys revealed a major disconnect between consumers and businesses as to
whether consumers believe advertising. While only 14 percent of consumers said
they believe advertising “most of the time,” nearly half of the businesses said
they feel consumers believe advertising most of the time.

“And conversely, while a fourth of consumers
said they usually don’t believe advertising, businesses thought only five percent of consumers felt
that way,” the study notes.

The
surveys also revealed what consumers like and don’t like in ads, and in some
cases there were large differences between consumers and businesses.

“While
only a third of consumers thought testimonials were positive, 80 percent of
businesses thought they were,” the study states. “Nearly two-thirds of
businesses thought ads that were repeated several times were positive, but only
19 percent of consumers thought so.”

Elements in
an advertisement that rank low among consumers are a company’s contact email
address and humorous advertising. Both
consumers and businesses agreed that slightly risqué advertising such as women
in bikinis is negative, with nearly two-thirds of consumers expressing strong
disapproval.

Nearly all
agreed that an ad must not violate laws, and more than 90 percent of consumers
and businesses think an ad must comply with BBB standards for advertising, the
group of positive and negative advertising practices drawn up by industry
representatives.

The study
also looked at the question of who’s responsible for misleading or untruthful
advertising. While noting that the BBB
considers that the responsibility for truthful and non-deceptive advertising
rests with the advertiser, the study said, “Some would suggest that the mantle
of responsibility is far-reaching, and that media in which advertising appears
also have a responsibility for legal and ethical advertising.”

“The Federal
Trade Commission (FTC) has repeatedly urged the media to be on the lookout for
misleading advertising,” the study notes, and quotes the FTC’s simple formula
for avoiding misleading advertising: “One evaluation standard applies to all ads:
Does the offer, promotion, payoff, or benefit sound too good to be true? If you
use this standard, and if you exercise caution when you spot some of the buzz
words and techniques . . . there’s a good chance that you’ll be able to spot a
questionable ad or promotion with just a quick look, and an even better chance
that you’ll be able to stop it before it gets into print, on the air, or in the
mail to your customers.”

However, the
study points out, the Newspaper Association of America (NAA) disclaimed any
responsibility for policing ads, telling the FTC at a 2002 workshop: “NAA
believes that advertisers are ultimately responsible for the content of their
advertising, and further, that the FTC and other government authorities are
responsible for enforcing advertising laws.”

Among the
recommendations the study makes is that media be more diligent in screening
advertising for public distribution. The study also recommended that consumers
continue to be alert for any misleading advertising, noting the many red flags,
such as use of the word free, asterisks which may nullify the offer, large
savings claims, lowest price guarantees, etc.

The
BBB is a nonprofit, business-supported organization that sets and upholds high
standards for fair and honest business behavior. The BBB provides
objective advice, free BBB Business Reviews on more than 4 million
companies, 11,000 charity
reviews, dispute resolution services, alerts and educational
information on topics affecting marketplace trust. Please visit www.bbb.org for more
information.